histo notes on the greeks 2
10/21/2010 10:53:00 PM
Topic: Ancient Greece- the golden age
Time: ca. 480-430 BCE
Place: Athens and it colonies
Concept: golden age; empire
Big Question: How does Athens illustrate the greek principle that hubris
leads ate?
HUBRIS: ARROGANCE
Arachne boasts that she can weave better then Athena and then Athena
because of her hubris she gets turned into a spider
ATE: RUIN, DOWNFALL
GOLDEN AGE: a time when everything is flourishing (really good) in a
particular society
Pericles’ three goals for athens
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Pericles led Athens to its golden age
461- 429 BCE
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1. To strengthen Athenian democracy 2. To hold and strengthen the
empire 3. To glorify Athens
Stronger Democracy
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he increased amount of paid public officials
maid more salaries
poorest could now serve in politics
these reforms made Athens one of the most democratic states in history
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DIRECT DEMOCRACY- when citizens rule through themselves and not
representatives
Few other cs practiced this government
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Athenian Empire
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He used cash from delian league to fund the 200 ship navy of Athens
strongest in the Mediterranean
Glorifying Athens
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He went against the league and to buy gold ivory and marble
He spent 15 years of building to build the Parthenon
Greek Styles in art
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Parthenon: 23,000 square foot building like a temple
It set the standards for future generations
Greek Sculpture
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In the Parthenon stood a giant statue of Athena goddess of wisdom and
protector of Athens
Phidias sculpture
38 foot tall sculpture
their art values became knows as classical art
Greek Drama
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built first theaters
expression of civic pride and a tribute to the gods
they wrote two types tragedy and comedy
Tragedy
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serious drama about common themes such as love hate war or betrayal
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had a hero a defect would cause his downfall often hubris or excessive
pride
Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides were the main play writers
Aeschylus wrote more than 80 plays
The oresteia based on Agamemnon commander of Greeks at troy
Sophocles wrote about 100 plays including Oedipus the king an antigone
about a young women from a noble family with 2 bros 1 bro fights
against another poleis and 1 fought against their poleis and the king
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cream announces that one will be buried and one will be left out for the
dog she disagrees and fights with her sister and antigone says a law cant
be followed if it goes against the gods and my conscious and then that is
a bad law in the end buries her brother and and get killed and then her
husband the kings son kills himself
Euripides author of the play medea
Comedy
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Had humor
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Satires or works that poked fun at a subject
Made fun of customs politics respected people or ideas of the time
Aristophanes wrote comedies the birds and lysistrata
Lysistrata was women telling their husbands not to fight in the
Peloponnesian war
Spartans and Athenians Go To War
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Athens and Sparta had tension wanted to fight and did
Peloponnesian war
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Sparta declares war against Athens in 431 BCE
Athens was strongest sea power in Greece
Sparta was better on land
The Spartans invaded and burned the food supply
They went into the guarded city and were safe
Sparta gains the edge
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In the second year of the war (430 BCE) a plague spread out and killed
about 2/3 of Athens population
Athens second disaster sent 27,000 soldiers to destroy polis of Syracuse
one of Spartas wealthiest allies
They lost in 413 BCE
404 BCE Athens surrendered
War brings political changes
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after 27 years of war Athens lost its empire
they couldn’t figure out what to do
Topic: ancient Greece- philosophy: the pre Socratics
Time: 6th-5th century BCE
Place: Greece
Concepts: reason; logic; proof
Big Question: Why was Greek Philosophy a revolution in thought?
Socrates- morality values meaning good society
Presocratics- were like scientists very scientific questions
Question: what are the big existential questions that people ask?
 Why are we alive?
 How did the world come to be?
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Why is there good and evil?
Why do I suffer?
What happens when I die?
How did people answer these question in the ancient world?
 Religion- the gids made it this way/said so
 Authority- the king (pharaoh, tyrant, nobles) made it this way
 Tradition- our ancestors have always understood it this way/ done it this
way
In this sense are the Jews unique? NO.
Philosophy: love of wisdom
Groundbreaking in the way it answers the existential questions about the
world and our place in it.
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PHILOSOPHY: LOVE OF WISDOM
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Groundbreaking in the way it answers these existential questions about th
e world and
our place in it.
USE OF REASON: Question: what does this mean??? (Look for evidence t
o prove your
theory). Rational rather than MYTHOLOGICAL.
Earliest philosophers emerge in Greece in the sixth century.
Interestingly, they are concerned with the physical world, mostly-what do
es it consist of,
notions of time and space.
Does this sound like a modern discipline to you? [science]
Yes-philosophy has always been related to science. Called the “Pre­Socrat
ics,” because
their work preceded the philosophical revolution started by SOCRATES. T
hough they were
born observers, the Pre-Socratics rarely undertook deliberate experiment
ation.
INSTEAD THEY TOOK INDIVIDUAL FACTS AND WOVE THEM INTO THEORI
ES.
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Despite appearance, they believed, the universe was actually simple and
subject to
natural laws.
thales ( 6th c. from miletus) big question: what was the world made of?
WATER
in Greece there was coast line from all of the water he thought everything
was water and there were floating islands flat. Water most important like
sustaing thing. It has it 3 states of matter solid liquid gas.
Infinite regress: something that cant be proven and cant come to an end.
Anaximander (thales student 6th c. miletus) says the world is a circle kept by
space and doesn’t move because it is held in palce by other heavenly
spheres. Says men come from fish.
Democritus- the world is made up of tiny indestructible particles called
atoms
Pythagoras- math is always true, purly logical, it is eternal and unchanging
Pythagorean theorem
vegetarian+fenimist
hippoctares: (5th c. from cos) Hippocratic oath to sware to be a good doctor
“father of medicine” first professional doctore
rational empirical (fact- based evidence) epilepsy from brain and that is what
he said
Topic: ancient Greece- Socrates
Time: 469-399 BCE
Place: Athens
Concepts: inquiry; wisdom
Big question: what was Socrates trying to accomplish?
AGORA-OPEN PLACE LIKE A MARKETPLACE
Inquiry: to inquire to ask
Motivation: story of the oracle of Delphi
Question: what insight does this story give you into Socrates’ character?
Believed that delphiw as the most holy city in the world. Oracle (seer, navi).
You would go to Delphi and give a summon to the sun god Apollo and then
the oracle would eat it and then give a vision. One story she said they would
win the Persian war with wooden walls and they said that it was wooden
boats. One story shes asked who was the wisest in Greece and she says
Socrates. He gets very mad but then relieazes why she says him. Because
he is not arrogant because once you think you are very smart then you are
conceded.
Philosophers search for truth:
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Great thinkers in questioning times called philosophers (lovers of wisdom)
Based philosophy on2 assumptions: 1. The universe 2. People can
understand laws by logic reason
Sophists questioned peoples uncontained beliefs and ideas about justice
Protagoras who asked about Greek gods
Radical and dangerous ideas to Athens
Socrates:
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Believed that absolute standards did exist for truth and justice
Concrete vs. abstract concrete: physical things, powerade bottle, table
abstact: JUSTICE, GOODNESS, TRUTH, FREEDOM
Believed that if you looked into something you will become that ike if you
look into goodness then you will become good
Relative vs. absolute truth—why Socrates hates the sophists sophists will
prove anything that is not absolutely true they will tell you relative to the
topic like they could argue something on both sides sophsts just want to
persuade you they don’t care if you didn’t like them
In athen sophists were very important
His method is called Socratic method=dialectic=dialogue
Socratic method word: courage bravery but not only battlefied do my own
thing does that eman I should listen to anybody no I should face my fears
A philosopher should only care about morality and justice
Made people think about the process and not the end
He also made them question their moral character
People who understood him loved him
Majority couldn’t understand him
399 BCE Socrates 70 years old. Brought to trial for corrupting youth of
Athens and neglecting city gods
his trial was a political setup
Socrates is a scapegoat
One of his famous students alcibiades turned traitor during the war with
Sparta
Said that if he was offered to live but stop teaching
God makes him do it (monotheistic)
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claimed actions were good because made people look at moral
they poisoned him
Plato:
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student of Socrates
28 years when teacher died
385-380 BCE Plato wrote the republic and said his view of perfect
government
all citizens would be in 3 groups farmers, artisans, warriors, and the
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ruling class
smartest person would be chosen philosopher-king
very popular for 1,500 years
rivals Socrates and Aristotle
Aristotle:
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questioned world and human belief, thought, and knowledge
close to summarizing all knowledge up to his time
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made method to order logic
applied method to field of psychology, physics, and biology
his work is the basic building block of the scientific method used
nowadays
famous pupil Alexander son of king Phillip of Macedonia
343 BCE tutors the son at 13
336 BCE student ended then he became the ruler
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10/21/2010 10:53:00 PM
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10/21/2010 10:53:00 PM
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